Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! Hi, I'm Rev. Ron. Welcome to Jackass.Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – 4 out of 5I’ve been a fan of Jackass since I first saw the show when it premiered on MTV. Since then, I’ve laughed at their antics, hated Bam Margera because he’s the world’s biggest douche, found Johnny Knoxville to be the biggest badass in all of existence and thought they achieved perfection with their second film. When I saw that they were making this movie, I wasn’t completely sold on the idea because the “old man” segments from Jackass weren’t the funniest ones I’ve seen the guys do but when I saw Knoxville’s old character make it rain during the beauty pageant for kids, I was 100% sold!

Cinematic gold!!!

Hookay, so unlike other Jackass films, this one has a story added to its hidden camera pranks. Bad Grandpa tells the story of Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) and how he has to transport his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) across the country. Billy’s mother is off to jail and Irving is now enjoying the single’s life after his wife passed, so the only person available to lay claim of guardianship is Billy’s father Chuck (Greg Harris). Now Irving and Billy must try to get this road trip underway without getting into too much trouble…

Wait...Knoxville was the old man? Like, the whole time? Mind blown!

This movie isn’t for everyone—just like everything that is Jackass. Their type of depraved, often violent and offensive humor isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That's cool because, remember, the world doesn't beat to the sound of just one drum. Some people see it and it inflates their ego because they believe they are above such shenanigans and other people see it and laugh their asses off…and other people watch it and think, “Damn, Bam Margera is cool. I wanna be like him.” The last type is the worst type of people in existence…in line right behind Bam Margera. The point I'm making is that their humor is very subjective and not really meant for mass audiences.

In an effort to create realism, Knoxville left his blinker on the entire time they
were filming.

While I didn’t think Bad Grandpa was anywhere near as funny as the 2nd film (seriously, I think that one was just plain perfection in the world of Jackass), the movie was definitely side-splitting. Adding a story to their hidden camera pranks gave the film a Borat or Brüno type feel and it made the film work well and keep the franchise fresh. Surprisingly, this addition of story and the fact that Billy and Irving are actual characters in the story ended up creating a sort of charm to the film and even added a little emotion to it all. I’m not saying the film choked me up but there were definite moments of tenderness from the character of Irving towards Billy and, surprisingly, the two characters do grow to love each other like you would expect to see in a non-Jackass involved story of this kind. This really made the movie more than just an excuse to see an old guy get his dick stuck in a soda machine or seeing an old man shit himself when he tries to fart.

This movie is just pushing the unfair stereotype that old men love having sex
with soda machines.

However, those things I mentioned just now were fantastic too!

The creepy old man from Family Guy gave Billy the hot dog.

The bodily harm enthusiastic humor we’ve come to know and expect (and love, depending on the viewer) is here; as well as the typical poo humor. Even though the humor is, at times, predictable, the film is still incredibly hilarious. The pranks that see Irving being flung through the windows of a retail shop thanks to a faulty kiddie ride, that see Billy asking an attractive young woman if she’s a stripper, that see Irving trying to be a male stripper at a bar and see the two causing trouble at a wedding are, for the most part, interwoven well into the film’s story. Although, to be honest, I did feel like there were times when these pranks felt shoe-horned in but, even when they were forced into the story, it didn’t really pull me out of the film.

Too bad my grandpa isn't like Zisman. My grandpa just keeps talking to me how
he thinks Jews and black teens are trying to take over the world. Visitations with
him is a very uncomfortable time.

There’s a specific audience for Bad Grandpa (which, I’m happy to say, I’m a part of) and I believe they will have a tremendous time watching this film. Unlike past Jackass properties, this film isn’t as vulgar as we’ve seen them get and most of the pranks are (mostly) harmless and are just excuses to raise the blood pressure of the people unlucky enough to be around when the crew came to town. The movie also shows that Johnny Knoxville has some real acting chops as he completely lost himself in the character of Irving Zisman. When all is said and done, I thought the movie was hilarious and a lot of fun to watch.

These reactions are about the most innocent you'll ever get from Jackass.

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About Me

I'm a geek, an atheist (who is also an ordained reverend), a peanut butter and jelly enthusiast, a man who shares the same name with a popular character from "Parks & Rec" and feels he can't live up to the awesomeness of the fictional character, was proudly banned from Reddit, an occasional Shakespearean performer, and a stand up comic.
Have any questions, recommendations or wanna share any theories on various movies? Email me at RevRonMovies@gmail.com and I'll talk about them on my new Q&A segment!